European species are much more liable to insect injury than the na- 

 tive basswood, and are much less desirable trees generally. 



ECONOMIC USES. 



The light brown wood is soft, straight-grained, and easily worked, 

 but not durable. It is often sold under the name of whitewood, and 

 is largely used for house lumber, woodenware, carriage bodies, panel 

 works, trunks, and paper pulp. 



Its large crown and dense foliage render it desirable for planting 

 along roadsides and about the home, and also for low shelterbelts 

 throughout the greater part of its range. Its flowers, which yield 

 great quantities of fine honey, lend it great value for bee keepers. 



PROPAGATION. 



The basswood reproduces freely both by seed and by sprout. The 

 seed ripen in September or early October, and may easily be collected 

 while attached to their large wings or bracts. They should be sepa- 

 rated from the wings and planted at once in nursery beds, as alternate 

 freezing and thawing during the winter rots and loosens the seed coat 

 and causes early germination. If it is impracticable to plant in the 

 fall, they may be kept over winter in a cool, dry place between layers 

 of sand. 



The basswood is one of the most prolific among our native trees in 

 sprouts from the stumps, and hence this method of renewing an old 

 stand is recommended. To secure vigorous sprouts the trees should 

 be felled between November and March and the stumps cut low. 

 Sprouts then start close to the ground, where they can soon develop a 

 root system of their own and become self-supporting. All but two or 

 three of the sprouts should be removed at the end of the first season. 

 Under favorable conditions a sprout grows only about a foot the first 

 year. 



The basswood seedling develops a single stout root, but this is soon 

 replaced by a number of lateral roots which give the tree a strong 

 hold upon the ground. 



PLANTING. 



In planting the basswood it is best to use one-year-old seedlings, 

 which should be set out as soon as the frost is out of the ground and 

 before the leaves unfold. As a rule it is advisable to space the trees 

 about 5 feet apart each way. 



Basswood does well when planted in pure stands, but it is also of 

 value in mixture with white or red pine (on good soil), or with white 

 elm, white oak, red oak, maple, or hickories. 



[Cir. 63] 



